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Fearing what the Demon Maikeru is capable of if a war ever did start, two of Kumogakure's strongest shinobi decide to take up an offer from a young woman for the aid of creating a barrier to prevent his escape while they battle the man within. The epic battle of Kumogakure's Reizei Ogosokamaru and Saito Masahiro versus Kirigakure's Daeshiro Maikeru ends with the death of two individuals.

Poster's note: foul language filtered in obvious places.

"Bringing Down the Giant - The Devil Trap"

A secluded island off the south coast of the Land of Water

A rather… odd message came to Maikeru's island, something he hadn't really expected. Someone who claims to have known Jigoku while he was still developing his power contacted him claiming to be able to help him unlock and master the demon's Kekkei Genkai. Despite the suspiciousness surrounding that, especially since his family has been after him, Maikeru decided it was worth checking out. After all, if he really could tap into that Kekkei Genkai, his power would be unmatched… even moreso than now. If it did turn out to be a trap, so far, the members of his family that have come for him really weren't that strong, at least in comparison. He figures he'll just wipe the floor with them once again and be done with it.
As evening sets in, the Jounin steps off a small boat onto the shore of an island where whoever sent the message asked to meet him. Despite any pretenses, he is dressed for combat as normal, his face expressionless as he looks around the terrain of sand and rock leading that leads into the forestry of the island. This place seems rather desolate. One might wonder if anything but small animals might live here, but this is definitely where he was asked to come. As he continues to look around, he finally spots a red umbrella held up at the treeline. He ponders a bit before walking up the beach and onto the rocky terrain, the figure becoming more clear as he does. A woman adorned in a gray and red kimono stands with her back to him, the umbrella obscuring her head and much of her upper body, though her long black hair does hang down below it.
"So good of you to come," a soft, yet confident voice rings out as Hana turns around to look at Maikeru, a wicked smile on her lips. She looks him up and down, measuring him up as she goes over today's strategy in her head. "Couldn't resist the thought of gaining more power, hmm?"
As the figure turns around to reveal a woman about his age, definitely much younger than he expected, Maikeru blinks and lifts an eyebrow. "Bit young to know the things you claim, aren't you?" he asks, smirking slightly and shaking his head. "Let me guess, another of my cousins come to try to kill me. I thought I'd been clear enough in my warnings that you would all die if you kept coming for me. Does the thought of your whole village being massacred not disturb you at all?"
Meanwhie, the other three shinobi from the Land of Demons hide in the top of trees are the line, waiting for the signal. They all look rather nervous, but focused and determined. In their minds, this is the last ditch effort. If they don't succeed today, they're probably all dead, along with the rest of their village.

Ogosokamaru had positioned himself beyond the three shinobi from the Land of Demons, midway in the height of the trees. The only thing that one would be able to see of him looking from the direction of where Maikeru now stood near Hana would be his right eye and eyebrow. Half lidded to even discern the small figure in the distance as someone, and not some animal. He had placed himself far enough away from the spot that may become a legend in the future. But right now, Ogo couldn't see it as anything more than a near-future battlefield.
His grip tightens on both of his weapons. His own sword he has had for nearly two decades, and the Blade of Torment. A rusty looking katana that looks like it might be as old as the rinnegan, but amazingly still hanging onto life. If weapons could be alive, this was one that would fit that description.
Metal on metal sing their slow hum out of the scabbards as his eye narrows and hones in on that one single figure of Maikeru in the distance on the path.
'You thirst… so do I today. Maybe we could bond a little more, neh?' the little voice trails through his mind when his hand touches the handle of that mearly sinister weapon.
Ogo tries to ignore it, as even a single word could call the attention of a shinobi of the caliber of Maikeru. So all ht eeven thinks, is a simple, and unfettered 'Yes.'

It had been many moons since Masahiro had traveled anywhere outside of his homeland. In his near century of life, the man had seen and done it all. Being a sentry to the Daiymo in the early years as a child lead him to become a ruthless general. That ruthlessness and efficiency as general shot him to the top of his clan, and he ruled them with an iron thumb, and in the end, he was even the Raikage. In his younger days, it was rumored he was a god among men; but in reality, he was just the best. If he had to count the amount of times he had to help seal a jinchuriki, he would run out of fingers and toes. However in his old age, his physical attributes had deteriorated considerably, leaving the old shell of a man with more wisdom and ability than he could possibly physically handle.
It's perhaps curious to Masahiro that he finds himself now, in this ripe old age of retirement, hiding in trees with two other shinobi; A possible suicide mission that could make or break the coming war that was inevitable.
The Saito Clan head has his eyes closed as he meditates, his movements minimal, and his breathing shallow. Not a sound, not a shadow. He is dressed in the most traditional shinobi fashion. IT perhaps might be the original shinobi fashion, as it's years of sitting in a closet shine through on finer inspection. A wrinkled hand grips the edge of the original, infamous Murakumou sword, whose royal blue wrappings have faded to a ripe purple through the years of blood-stains. Slowly, his old, tired eyes open, dead-set and icy with what could be called the most murderous of intents of the century. He too waits for the signal, ready to meet his fate. Better to die in battle, then to wither away in a bed.

COMBAT: Masahiro focuses 1000 stamina to turn it into usable chakra!
COMBAT: Masahiro finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Maikeru's turn.

"On the contrary," Hana says, giving a wink to Maikeru. "That is exactly why we're here, to ensure that doesn't happen. We know the path you're on. So long as you're alive, you will eventually come for our village and destroy it. That is why you must die…. today." With an upward wave of her hand, the Land of Demons shinobi spring into action. They quickly move across the island and take four corners at roughly a hundred yards apart from the adjacent peson each then begin moving their hands through Hand Seals, all locking in simultaneously to active a jutsu. From each corner, a stream of chakra connects each person then moves up into the air, creating a massive wall about a hundred feet high, chakra racing across the top when it reaches that height to create a ceiling. The island is now a battlefield, a cage where six shinobi have locked themselves in with a demon in hopes that they might kill it before it can escape, take it down while it is alone. However… Things don't always go quite according to plan.
Maikeru watches curiously as Hana speaks and then gives her motion to move into battle. While he expected them to be charging him, it seems they're just creating a barrier to lock him inside. Either they plan to starve to death with him, or there's something or someone else in here that is supposed to take him down. "Cute. I wonder how longer this barrier will stand when I rip your heads off," the Jounin says, shaking his head and chuckling a bit as he begins to gather chakra. He then brings a hand up and bites his thumb, causing it to bleed before he moves through a series of Hand Seals himself. At the end, he calmly calls out, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu," as he slams his hand down on the ground. Seals appear around it before several creatures of pure black appear around him, their bodies shaped like men, yet ethereal, made of pure darkness. It seems the demon has minions to help him fight.

Cut the head off the snake.
That's usually the case with any military force. Destroy the upper echelon of leadership and the corce crumbles beneath the lightened shoulders of leadership and no commands to follow.
Shinobi and summons are quite a different story. Ogo himself had served before. With probably the Diamyo or two after the one that Masahiro served. So they would both understand, an uprising of people with all the same thought process and plans, you need to take out the minions in forcible number to stay the hearts and minds of those that are still alive.
The signal given. So Ogo goes for the summon. Whatever it is, hopefully it can die like anything else in this world or the next. If not, well, "We're in for quite a ride."
At this distance, Ogo only has one technique that would cover that distance that fast. And it was more of the speed than anything that would get him there in one leap.
The tree he stood upon, and hopped around at the middle of the trunk was a hefty one. About 5 feet in diameter halfway up the trunk where Ogo stood with a few larger branches down below, too. His feet plant directly on the trunk, now putting him sideways standing on the tree. He crouches. The propulsionary magnitude of his leap might even rival many Jounin of their own nations physical might. The tree at the trunk literally explodes into likely millions of splinters, wrecking it in half as the lower half of the trunk leans and sways making the ground on one side of the root system churn up from beneath the soil below. The upper half of the tree bounds leaf over bark behind, smashing into the foliage further back, even snapping another tree at the base. Dust flies, a cloud of debris careens into the air where Odo had just been.
And where Maikeru and his summon stood, was merely a glintint line of light where Ogo's sword passed, the line being right through in a direct line where two or three (or the biggest number are) stood in a stright line.

Ohh… a summoning barrier.. that's the cue! Masahiro suddenly begins to glow a deep blue as he rips the ancient shinobi-gatana from it's sheath. This is what it had come down to! A death-match for the ages. As the summoning technique is executed, Masahiro's infamous blade instantly traps his humming chakra, and it too begins to radiate in pure blue energy, crackling and humming with an insane amount of heat that causes birds to scatter for several yards.
As Ogo jumps into action, Masahiro remains stationary at first, his chakra increasing. The slowly pulsating chakra suddenly speeds up, brightening in color and intensity. The wind around the ancient sword-wielder excellerates, and his head and eyes narrow. He calls out from the trees, "You will die here, today with us if it comes to that." The voice is no doubt that of the ex-Raikage, his speeches infamous and his voice moreso
Instead of leaping into action, he drops from his branch, and slowly walks onto the battle-field, his wind-blade humming with near mysticism.
"I am ready to die today, are you?"

As the blur moves past some of the Hitokage, Maikeru smirks slightly. He's seen that attack from two different people, one of which he is quite sure isn't alive to be coming after him. The Jounin smirks and looks up as he hears the words coming from the trees, watching curiously as the older shinobi comes down from the tree line. "You really shouldn't give your position away that easily if you're not ready to strike," the demon says, and, suddenly, a feeling of darkness would seem to flow out of him, the pure evil intent of a demon thick in the air as an aura of blood red chakra flares up around him. His eyes begin to glow an eerie yellow, and then he vanishes…. Only to reappear again directly in front of Masahiro with a hard thrust aimed directly at his face.
Meawhile, as two of the Hitokage dissipate, the others begin looking around. Dark whispers begin to ring out, and, if Ogo does not catch the Genjutsu and escape it, he would suddenly feel this madenning urge to fight, specifically directed at Masahiro and even himself. In his mind, the voice of the Crawler rings out. "The light that you bring will die. The light inside you will die. All that you are will die."

The whipsers, the maddening whispers. Ogosokamaru hadn't ever heard anything like this before. The urge to hurt himself became clear, and so did the fact that this must be some form of genjutsu, but it was too late. Sword raises up, and into the side of his torso the blade plummets. It took more damage from him than he would have wanted from attempting to get out of a genjutsu. Used more energy from him, too, as he found himself breathing hard after the whispers fade out of his ears.
He looks at the other abominations, and with his ninja-to still sticking out of his side, he screams a battlecry. Or just really really mad shout.
In either case, the resounding sonic boom of the next attack he makes causes what few birds and small animals that didn't run away to take flight (or foot) away from the area, and even out to the shores of the island. Ohh, if squirrels could swim, there's be a school or two in the waters now.
Leaves fall that still had a few months life left in them before the total nakedness of winter would strip them from their trees, but alas, with that sonic boom from Ogo's attack, it's no wonder they fell prematurely.

Masahiro was not worried about giving his position away, "I am too old to worry about giving my location away." Masahiro is quick with his upkeep, bringing his glowing sword up. He manages to block the attack, but the energy manages to slip past the blade just enough to slash him deeply across the face.
Growling, Masahiro pivots his foot, his chakra surging as he pushes Maikeru's attack backwards. In an insane display of speed, the old man suddenly spins, a ball of wind chakra balling up at the base of the blade. As the spin unwinds, and he closes in on Maikeru, the ball of chakra is released in an attempt to gut Maikeru.
Knowing that it would probably wouldn't make it through, Masahiro slides back out of arms reach, readjusting his position to a defensive one. His front leg slides forward before his foot snaps towards his enemy. A curious glance is offered back towards Ogo to see how his battle is going.

As the chakra slams into him, Maikeru is sent backwards a bit, purposely allowing this momentum to carry him backwards. Judging by Ogo's aggressiveness, the Hitokage aren't going to last much longer, so he may as well use their distraction to get a good shot off. As he flies through the air, he begins moving through Hand Seals, flipping to land on his feet at a diagonal and skidding back a bit. When he lands, he finalizes the seal and points both hands forward, creating a massive form of both of them to open a massive spiraling gate of chakra that functions something like a black hole. If they don't move out of its range, both of them would feel their being ripped out of them forcefully, some of it going to refuel Maikeru's own chakra. Meanwhile, all of the remaining Hitokage are blasted by Ogo's technique, all but one of them now dissipating into nothing to go back to the Crawler. The last one that is barely standing attempts one more time to latch onto Ogo's mind, and the voice would begin to enter his mind again. "Are you thinking of your loved ones now, how you will never see them again?" it asks as the urge to harm both himself and Masahiro would attempt to overtake him again. "But you are relieved, are you not? You wish them hurt. You wish them undone. You wish them UNLIVING!" He's getting a small taste of what Maikeru had to deal with for a few weeks while starving to death.

Ogosokamaru was looking down at the sword in his side, and slowly removed it, his own blood dripping from his own weapon. Looking at the last of the black things to be dispatched, Ogo begins towards him, and with a small leap he brings both of his swords crashing down at the thing, hoping to cleave it back to wherever it came from. In the middle of his attack, the soul-sucking technique that Maikeru pulls on both the White-haired teen and Masahiro, Ogo falls short of his target. Down on his hands and a knee, his heartbeat thuds in his ear a couple of times, his vision blurring for a good few moments.
Those whispers compound the feeling of hopelessness, and he can barely get a hand to his side and squeeze, sending fresh crimson into his clothing to spread to that entire side of his white cloth vest.
"I might.." grunt, "..not have a whole lot.." groan as he starts to stand, "..of hope for myself." Hand on his knee to push himself to stand again, looking at the black figure in front of him, breathing heavily, "But I'm not going to give you.." pant pant, "..the chance to kill -anyone-," deep breath, "in my village." His arm raises with that rusty sword, slashing down to make a cleave at the shoulder of the black demon thing, making a loud audible snapping sound to anyone, but the demon. Rumor has it you can't hear the one that hits you.
'I'm hungry, and that **** you're feeding me isn't doing it. I need blood.. real blood this time. Capiche!?' The voice eminating to his mind from the sword in his hand would make him take a few moments to watch and wait to make sure the demon is down and out, before he would turn around and face Maikeru.
"You're next.." cue heavy rock riffs and the slow walk towards the target.

Masahiro flickers as quick as he can from the soul-draining attack delivered by the demon. If he had been a split second quicker, he'd have managed to avoid it, instead it grazes him. Graze or not, it hits. Masahiro keeps himiself standing, grunting in pain as his life-force is ripped from him. His eyes narrow at the Demon, "You are perhaps the strongest foe I've ever faced. It's an honor to fight you. I realize my sacrifice will not be in vain. A demon as evil as you will cause nothing but death and destruction. We have enough of that from villages, instead of just one man." Unable to attack, Masahiro takes a deep breath and takes what time he has to focus his chakra after it had been sucked out of him!

COMBAT: Masahiro focuses 2000 stamina to turn it into usable chakra!
COMBAT: Masahiro finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Maikeru's turn.
COMBAT: Maikeru attacks Masahiro with JIGOKU-SUPERNOVA…62
COMBAT: Maikeru finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Hitokage's turn.
COMBAT: Hitokage defends against SNAP-SLASH(46) attack from Ogosokamaru with a FADE…25
COMBAT: Hitokage loses the roll and sustains 997 damage.
COMBAT: It is now Ogosokamaru's turn.
RP: Hitokage leaves the roleplay.

With that slash, the last of the Hitokage fades away to rejoin the Crawler, and now the numbers have shifted back to the demon being outnumbered in this fight. Still, he doesn't seem to be doing too bad for that being the case, as the gates of chakra allow him to feed off the chakra of both Masahiro and Ogo. Once they close, he points his right hand out at Masahiro, forming an orb of blood red chakra as the old man speaks. "Already set on sacrificing yourself for the greater good, are we?" the demon asks, snickering a bit as the orb grows as enormous as a Jigoku Fist then fires off toward Masahiro. "What good does it do for you to die at my feet when I will simply live on to do as I wish?" Upon impact, the orb will explode violently, leaving a crater wherever it hits, maybe even in the man's body. "All hope ends here."

Ogo knew that his chakra was drained right now. He was going on an empty tank at the moment. So for now, he sheathed his ninja-to, and when Maikeru was talking to Masahiro and attacking him, he saw an opening! As quick as he could, he went to get behind or beside Maikeru, and a single hand reaches out to grab at his ankle as Ogo is in a slide for his life. Literally. And Masahiro's, too! And all the lives of- Well you get the idea.
The force put into him pulling Maikeru's leg was enough that the ground under Ogo's feet, if he were to succeed, would crack and crumble, and he would attempt to throw Maikeru down into the ground right in front of him, "Masahiro, now!"
Of course, if it didn't work, he would just spin and try to get away before Maikeru could get a hold of him, or use a really painful attack again.

Masahiro let's out a demonic laugh of his own, though there is definitely pain in tone as he raises his sword, "I'm old and in poor health.. I will die within a year or two anyways. I may die here today, but you will not leave here alive. I've lived a full life.."
It's unfortunate that he didn't go with his gut-instinct. Again, that split second he should've moved, or blocked, he moved! But it was too slow, and the blast blind-sides him like an explosion, sending the old man into several trees. Masahiro grunts, bleeding from several contusions and chakra burns. He's not down yet. Moving back to the battle field as quickly as he can, he takes the setup from Ogo, and leaps into a flurry of heavy Murakumou strikes that, if hit, could devastate someone.
If he misses, Masahiro slides back further, bringing his sword up. No more mistakes could be made.

"We'll see about that." Maikeru says, smirking slightly. He attempts to flicker out of the way of Ogo's grasp, but he doesn't quite move fast enough to do so and ends up being thrown right onto the ground and into a series of sword slashes that sends him flying back, skidding on the ground and bleeding. "Not bad," he says, chuckling a bit. He is obviously in pain, though he doesn't scream or cry out. The man's been through enough pain to be quite used to the feeling… Not to say that Ogo and Masahiro aren't seriously going to pay for that one. Downed for the moment, the demon begins calculating his next move in his head. While his health condition is considerably lower now, he still has plenty of chakra to work with since he stole a good bit from them… This is going to hurt.

COMBAT: Maikeru finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Ogosokamaru's turn.

'His blood is tainted, but it works.'
That little voice from that weapon of his made Ogo look down at it for half a second. Then he crouches.
The ground heaves, the bedrock of the island cracks slightly, sending a rumble through the earth and the waves beyond the sands of the shore.
"Gomenesai…" Ogo whispers.
That flicker of light from the shine of his weapon mars the space between his previous location and where he stops fifty yards past Maikeru's position when he took off. The rumble of the ground beneath them was only penetrated by the thunderous wretch of sound that the air vomits out from the sheer speed of the slash through it.

Masahiro walks up and stabs his sword into the ground several feet away from Maikeru. His hands blur into a long string of seals before wind chakra surges at his finger-tips. The sword works as a channeling device as a blade of wind is formed. Masahiro looks quite serious for a second as he takes his time to aim the spiraling blade of wind, before sending it sailing through the air at such an insane speed, that it causes the air to split, causing a whistling sound to resonate as it closes in on the temporarily incapacitated target.
Instantly after he releases the energy sword, he snatches up his real sword, and readies himself for whatever might appear, "Yes we shall!"
The thunderous wretch of sound is enough to draw Masahiro's attention for just a splint second, "Impressive, Reizei." Might possibly be the first compliment a Saito has ever given a Reizei!

COMBAT: Masahiro attacks Maikeru with BLADE-OF-WIND…71
COMBAT: Masahiro finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Maikeru's turn.
COMBAT: Maikeru defends against THUNDERCLAP-STRIKE(97) attack from Ogosokamaru with a TENSE…16
COMBAT: Maikeru loses the roll and sustains 1378 damage.
COMBAT: Maikeru reveals his DARK DESIGNS and breaks free from his stunned state!
COMBAT: Maikeru defends against BLADE-OF-WIND(71) attack from Masahiro with a BODY-FLICKER-III…84
COMBAT: Maikeru wins the roll.

Taking a seriously blast back from Ogo's attack, one would think Maikeru is just about finished as he flies through the air. However, just before the blade of wind touches him, the demonic Jounin looks up at Masahiro, those eerie glowing yellow eyes burning with murderous intent. He disappears from sight, his course becoming quite clear as a gigantic hand of blood red chakra would appear behind Masahiro and attempt to literally grab his whole body and begin to squeeze. If successful, one would be able to hear the sickening sounds of a human body literally being crushed to death as his physical energy and chakra and zapped away from him, the demon attempting to steal what little life the man may have left in him away. "You will break like straw in my hand."

'Delicious..'
As the blood drips from Ogo's sword, the rust spots on the weapon begin to dissappear as blood trails across them. It's like the weapon was absorbing the blood. Like it was feeding on it.
Ogo merely turns around, and once again, that thunderous crack resonates about the island, blasting through the air like a thunderbolt just struck once again. Ogo hoped dearly that this would be the end of it. Coming up from behind his target, this was such an open invitation for another attack, expecially since the attack Maikeru was using on Masahiro would take up severe amounts of concentration. At least that's the plan.
As he approaches Maikeru from behind, it felt like slow motion as he looked towards Masahiro. No words were needed. Just a look to say farewell should this attack befall the older Kumogakure shinobi.
Ogo can't help but think to himself with a tiny hint of a smirk. Y'know, for a Saito, he's not so bad.

COMBAT: Ogosokamaru attacks Maikeru with THUNDERCLAP-STRIKE…65
COMBAT: Ogosokamaru finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Masahiro's turn.
COMBAT: Masahiro defends against HELLS-CLUTCH(78) attack from Maikeru with a DODGE-III…96
COMBAT: Masahiro wins the roll.

Fortunately for Masahiro, he was a master of getting the **** out of the way, and he pushes his little old body out of the way at extreme speeds. He literally flickers out of sight, reappearing several yards away, a single handed seal being used to focus his chakra as he considers his next course of action. Calculating eyes flicker about the battle-field as he articulates his next move. He looks hopeful at Ogo's attack, but he readies himself for the next attack.

COMBAT: Masahiro focuses 2500 stamina to turn it into usable chakra!
COMBAT: Masahiro finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Maikeru's turn.
COMBAT: Maikeru defends against THUNDERCLAP-STRIKE(65) attack from Ogosokamaru with a JIGOKU-CLOAK…104
COMBAT: Maikeru wins the roll.

As Ogosokamaru rushes in to save the day for the old man, it seems he is going to strike Maikeru down. However, events suddenly change dramatically as the strike simply bounces right off of Maikeru, and Ogo is now the target, as the giant hand swings around to grasp him since the old man has escaped. "Bad move," he says, smirking slightly as he goes to clamp the hand down on the Kumogakure shinobi, intending to squeeze and drain the life out of him, threatening to literally break every bone in his body as he is squished like a grape.

After Ogo's sword lands on the cloak, and bounces off, it sends him into a spinning skid, putting him about where Masahiro had been not moments before. Right next to that large hand of chakra. There are only so many times in Ogo's life he had felt absolute fear. This now counted among them.
As the hand grasps him, he can feel his feet lift off the ground. As this moment passes, Ogo's eyes begin to glaze over, and through his minds eye he begins to see things.
Mainly his childhood before he ever started trying to learn how to fight. Some happy moments. Eating a meal with his family. Before his brother ever started being a jerk.
The next moment was when he was successful in the Diamyo's army, sitting with his fellow soldiers of his platoon, laughing over dinner after a well completed mission.
The last moment, the one that stayed with him, was of Yunataru. A girl he met when working in the Diamyo's employ. A simple tea ceremony.
This wasn't Genjutsu. Ogo was sitting there, and he didn't know how he got there. Yuna looks at him confusedly, then closes her eyes and giggles.
"Silly, I told you fighting would get you hurt someday!" Her laugh was like bells, jingling in the distance.
Ogo's eyes started to well up, and he stood and rushed to her, taking her in his arms. She laughed again, standing with him.
"You know you can't come see me yet, silly." She broke from the hug, reaching up and poking him on the chest a couple times. "You still have a few things to do."
Ogo couldn't see through the tears in his vision within his mind. He could barely talk through the lump in his throat. "But," a deep and shakey breath, "I don't know how to.. and why can't I just come be with you right now?!"
She smiles, and reached down and pours some tea for both of them, gesturing for him to sit.
"You just have to love. But not like you love me. It's more.. like brothers and sisters… sons and daughters, everyone in your Village. You have to love them, too, and make it through for them. Like that funny nephew of yours I never met." She laughs again, "Sit down, drink some tea, and you'll figure it out. I know you can, because I loved you, and I wouldn't love a man who didn't know how to love others. And, you don't have to be all funny and squishy about it."
Ogo sits down at the little table, tears fading from his eyes, but he still can hardly speak. "Yunatari.."
"Yes?" Her sweet voice carrying the little question just far enough so he could hear.
Ogo barely choked out the whisper as tears returned to his eyes rolling down his cheeks.
"I miss you so much…"
Her "I know" was drowned out by the pain wringing him back awake from his little reverie. Tears were actually in his eyes as his hand gripped tighter over his sword, and as much as he could muster, he just glares at Maikeru…

COMBAT: Ogosokamaru finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Masahiro's turn.

Masahiro's calculating gaze tightens when his team-mate gets caught in a sticky situation! Taking a deep breath, the old shinobi zooms forward, his blade moving around him like a blur of energy. The attacks are so powerful that it might even be distracting to his opponent, as it's a relentless attack! "Come on Ogo.. pull through! Can't do this without you!" He shouts out.
This was beginning to look like the scales were tipping away from their favor. He doesn't stop moving though, his flurry going into over-drive! This was it! Masahiro could not take another hit like he had been taking! The fate of the war depended on him! Could he do it? Could he actually put an end to Maikeru reign of terror?

As Ogo kind of bloacks out for a moment, Maikeru continues to squeeze, perhaps intending to finish him. The words as the boy wakes up bring a lift of an eyebrow as he looks back at the Kumogakure shinobi. "Do me a favor, kid. Don't let it consume you," he says, his eyes narrowing as he speaks rather seriously. Just before Masahiro's strikes connect, he says, "Monsters are feared in life, but we die alone." His cloak holds off much of the damage, but the old man manages to actually break through it, stabbing into the Jounin over and over again and sending him to the ground a bleeding mess. The demon may yet fall today.

COMBAT: Maikeru finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Ogosokamaru's turn.
COMBAT: Ogosokamaru attempts to ESCAPE from Maikeru's stun and fails!

Ogo writhes in the clutch of the hand of chakra Maikuru has him in, and he just watches as Masahiro broadsides him with the attack, and he just smiles, ever so slightly, with a single look upward to the bright blue sky through the barrier that keeps them inside. The sunlight was a little shaded from them due to the slight blue hue of the barrier, but Ogo could feel it still so warm on his face through the blood spatter and sweat and tears.
"Thank you, Yuna," he whispers upward, closing his eyes and just waiting for what is to happen next.

COMBAT: Ogosokamaru finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Masahiro's turn.

Masahiro manages to get him with his powerful, debilitating flurry that leaves him vulnerable for just long enough to slam his sword into the ground. His hands weave in and out of each other in a familiar pattern. Chakra then stretches out of his fingertips, swirling and spiraling once again in the chaotic wind chakra that whistles. Masahiro raises his hand and flings it with deadly keen accuracy, in an attempt to piece the monster in the heart, "Die now demon, and return from hence you came!"

With the slashing of the wind, a finally fatal blow rips directly through Maikeru, his guts literally ripped open. He lets out a long groan of pain, his body tensing its last time in agony before it begins to shut down toward its final rest. The Jounin's eyes start to get dim as he looks up toward the sky, which is blocked by the barrier. "Heh, guess this is… where I'm…. supposed to deliver some kind of… rhetoric… or call some girl's name out in my final moments saying… how much I loved her…" As he continues to fade, he tilts his head just slightly as he looks up at the sky. "Guess I won't have that luxury." And with that, he goes silent. Rather than using his last bit of strength for speaking, he uses it for something much more useful… He's sending the memory of this fight to a girl in Sunagakure through a Communication Seal he placed on her. Kumogakure won't exactly get off scott-free, yet there's no indication from the Jounin that he's even still conscious, much less that he's letting someone know what happened. Sachiko would be instructed to wait until the end of the Exams, in the tournament where everyone is there to tell the Mizukage himself what happened in discretion when no one would question why she is even in Kirigakure. The irony of the situation is that, in trying to save their village from Maikeru, these men have started the war on it themselves while they go home thinking everything is just fine.

COMBAT: Maikeru finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Ogosokamaru's turn.
COMBAT: Ogosokamaru attempts to ESCAPE from Maikeru's stun and fails!
COMBAT: Ogosokamaru finishes his turn.
COMBAT: It is now Masahiro's turn.

Masahiro's final attack was a success. The windy chakra that had pierced the flesh of Maikeru was nearly everything the old man had. Standing just long enough to see the demon fall, Masahiro also falls, slumping over a rock for a long moment. Slowly he pulls himself up, the accumulated damage taking a toll on the frail body of the old shinobi. With the last remaining bit of chakra and energy, the old man withdraws a piece of parchment. Biting his thumb, the Saito Clan head presses his hand to the parchment and begins to write blood-kanji. It stains the parchment perfectly, legible enough for anyone to read. Once he's done writing what he had to write, he hands it towards Ogo. With a crackling voice, the old man manages to get out, "We.. we did it son. Imagine that.. R-.. Reizei and Saito, accomplishing a common goal." He offers a smile. Perhaps the first smile that has ever touched the lips of the old General. "Please.. ta-.. take this to my son and your leader. The future of our village is held between our two clans working together. See what we've accomplished!" With a final breath, the old man's head slumps over as the life drains from his aged eyes.

I hope this message reaches you all, I did not survive the battle that ended the demon, Maikeru's life. I have been sick for some time now. I did not expect to make it more than a few months time. For the first time ever, the Saito Clan and the Reizei Clan have worked together to accomplish a great task! In my final hour, I have only one request of you my son, and you, Reizei-san. Work together! In the end, we may face war, but as long as we stand united, no enemy shall defeat us.
Until next time!
Saito Masahiro

As the chakra hand fades and dissipates from around Ogosokamaru, he drops to the ground on his hands and knees, and drops the old sword. A single, voracious cough draws up blood from within, and he spits it on the dirt beneath him. He slowly stands up, holding his arms to his stomach and approaches Masahiro with a limp, falling to his knees when he gets over to the old man slumped over a rock.
A deep breath, reaching out to take Maikeru's hand and smile back at him. He doesn't have any profound words to say when Masahiro finishes talking, but he does bring up his other hand to hold the old man's.
A few moments after that, Ogo tucks the note into his jacket pocket- Huh, his jacket got ripped off at some point. He stuffs it into his pants pocket, and stands up, reaching down to pick up Masahiro's limp body.
He limps forward, having to walk past Maikeru's corpse at that point. He even stops, and looks down at the body, and chuckles just a little.
"I wouldn't be surprised if, when the hardest of us die, our flesh chokes the animals and carrion that try to feed on us. Dead or alive, you can't change a killer."
Without a second thought, Ogo would reach down with his free hand that wasn't stabilizing Masahiro on his shoulder, and grab Maikeru by the ankle. Dragging the body very untactfully, he would head down towards the rondezvous point where Hana had told them she'd be waiting on the other side of the barrier for them.

As usual, Sachiko had been working under instruction from the council, this time in the man-made greenhouse, tending the plants and making sure everything was going smoothly. When the message from Maikeru started to come through, she just kept working at first, thinking he was once again just sending her something to get a reaction out of her.
… This got more of a reaction than any of his previous teasing or harassing remarks, as she completely halted what she was doing. 'But…' As if arguing with him dying would help matters, she tried to form a coherant thought to send as he was fading, settling half-heartedly on, 'Thank you…' After a moment of standing there, dumbfounded and trying to gather her thoughts, she dropped the shears she'd been using to trim a particular plant and turned, leaving the gardens to head for home. She'd get **** for it later, she was sure, but it didn't matter to her at the moment.
Once at home, she walked numbly to her room and gathered up pen and paper, plopped herself on her bed, and began to write. Everything that came to mind, really, but most specifically the instructions she'd been given and some thoughts on what and how to say what needed to be said to the Mizukage. The Iga hadn't bothered to create an eye in order to see what she was writing… It was simply too much effort at the moment. Eventually, her hand would begin to cramp and she'd sigh, stopping herself from writing more. Her attention forcibly turned to a single thing in her room, despite it really being the last thing she wanted to think about.
Maikeru's trench coat. It was actually draped over the headboard of her bed, right beside her at the moment, and she weakly tilted her head to brush against the cloth before reaching up and clutching the hem. "Dammit," she muttered, gritting her teeth. Her eyes clenched shut just as well as she fought off a crashing wave of emotion. "****…" Bringing her knees to her chest, she draped her free arm over them and leaned her head into it, eventually giving in and starting to sob.